Publications

In addition to NIHR published research, we produce other material to introduce the NIHR and its activities as well as guides and reviews. A selection is provided below.

About the NIHR

NIHR: What can we do for you?is a small concertina-fold leaflet signposting the various ways the NIHR can help researchers, from funding to advice and wider support.

Our annual reports detail the NIHR’s activities and achievements during the year, setting out our partnerships and engagement with patients and the public, the life sciences industry and charities, contribution to economic growth, support for training and careers in research, research and knowledge transfer activities and the financial report.

Public involvement and participation

Going the Extra Mile is a strategic review of public involvement in the NIHR. It provided an opportunity for an independent review panel to assess how far the NIHR has been successful in achieving public involvement across its activities to date and to recommend a direction for the NIHR for the future that builds on these achievements.

Our Research Design Service (RDS) provides support on all aspects of developing a grant application and this includes guidance on PPI.They have created a Patient and public involvement (PPI) leafletto help explain the benefits of involving the public in research and how they can get involved. Our RDS aims to offer the best possible research design advice and this includes guidance on PPI. We want this handbook to be a resource and help guide research work involving patients and the public.

Your health records saves lives is a leaflet developed by the UKCRC with the input of patient groups and GPs to provide information about researchers' access to patient records. The leaflet has been distributed to over half the GP surgeries across England, Wales and Scotland. Scottish and Welsh versions of the leaflet are available on the UKCRC website.

NIHR Identity Guidelines (Version 3)

This document contains instructions necessary to apply the NIHR Identity, which is part of the NHS brand. This guidance is for everyone who needs to name or otherwise feature the NIHR including:

researchers who hold NIHR awards, for example, from a training or research programme or who are Senior Investigators

communicators, managers and directors from all parts of the NIHR

press officers, graphic designers or other issuers/producers of NIHR-related material, for example, based in NHS trusts, universities, consultancies and publishers

NIHR infographics

We have created five infographics to give an overview of the NIHR. Browse individual titles in the list below to find out more about the people, systems and projects contributing to our collective mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation.

Economic growth

Growth through health research: The NIHR as an engine for growthThis documentillustrates the ways the NIHR is contributing to economic growth. These include creating an internationally competitive research environment, enabling collaborations and partnerships with the life sciences industry, developing a highly-skilled research workforce, and generating research evidence which helps keep the population healthy and able to work and which supports the NHS in making better and more cost-effective use of resources.

Funding

OurFunding opportunities booklet provides information about the NIHR’s research funding and career development opportunities available for researchers based in the NHS, universities, industry and other organisations concerned with health, public health and social care.

Research Design Service (RDS)This leaflet describes how our Research Design Service (RDS) can support you in applying for our research funding and for other open national peer-reviewed funding programmes. RDS advisers in bases across England offer a unique breadth of experience and a proven track record in improving research applications. Advice is confidential and free of charge.

Clinical trials

Clinical Trials Guide for Trainees is a resource that was developed to support individuals interested in pursuing a research career that involves developing and leading clinical trials. The guide includes a series of questions and answers as well a list of links to further information sources.

Research findings and evidence

NIHR Journals Library

The NIHR is the world’s first health research funder to publish comprehensive accounts of its commissioned research within its own publicly and permanently available journal series. The NIHR Journals Library comprises a suite of five open access peer-reviewed journals reporting results from a range of health research areas. The reports provide a full account of the research project, including methods and a full description of the results, and complement shorter articles submitted for publication in other peer-review journals, which the NIHR actively encourages researchers to do as part of their dissemination strategy.

NIHR Dissemination Centre

The NIHR Dissemination Centre publishes accessible, timely summaries of the most relevant and important research in its 'Signals' series on a weekly basis and other regular reviews of recent, relevant research on key themes.

Information Strategy

The overarching purpose of this Information Strategy is to set out how the NIHR will capture data and transform it into information and insight. The strategy will be accompanied by a wider change programme, which will ensure that the NIHR’s business processes, its people and its technologies are aligned, integrated and effective.

Communications Strategy

The NIHR is the largest Government funder of health research in the UK and our relationship with all our stakeholders is very important to us.

The aim of this communications strategy, covering the period 2017-2022, is to build upon the significant progress already made during the NIHR’s first decade and to introduce an approach to communications that will deliver a ‘step change’ in levels of awareness for the NIHR.

There is recognition that improving our storytelling could transform the way the NIHR is perceived and understood. This strategy will guide our efforts and ensure that we’re placing focus where most benefit can be gained.

Our findings confirm that we are starting from a strong base where those in the NIHR believe passionately in its mission and are proud to be associated with it. The challenge ahead is to demonstrate to a wider set of audiences the positive impact that it delivers to the health and social care system, patients and the public. We believe this to be a critical success factor for the NIHR and it therefore forms the backbone of our communications strategy.

We are very grateful to all our stakeholders who gave up their time to contribute evidence to inform this strategy and look forward to working collaboratively with them for its effective delivery.